What people actually put in storage
Most containers hold exactly what you would expect: sofas, beds, wardrobes, boxes of books and kitchen equipment, the contents of a flat waiting for its owner to complete on the next one.
Then there is everything else. Over the years, containers across the industry have held pianos, antique furniture, empty fish tanks, office desks and printers, market trader stock, gym equipment, motorbikes, wine collections, theatrical props, and a great deal of inherited furniture that nobody has yet decided about.
Business use is a growing share. Archive files that must legally be retained, seasonal stock, exhibition materials and equipment used a few times a year, all held somewhere considerably cheaper than office floor space.
The general rule is simple. If it fits, is not on the prohibited list, and is not alive, it can usually go in.
What is not allowed
Four categories, consistent across the industry, and none of them are negotiable.
Nothing perishable. Food, plants, anything that will rot. It attracts pests and it ruins everything around it.
Nothing flammable or hazardous. Paint, aerosols, gas canisters, petrol, fireworks, chemicals. This is a fire safety rule and it is the one operators enforce most strictly.
Nothing illegal. Stolen goods, drugs, unlicensed firearms. The terms you sign make you responsible for what is inside.
Nothing alive. No pets, no reptiles, not even a tortoise in hibernation. It sounds obvious and it is asked more often than you would think.
There is also a fifth rule that surprises people, which is that you cannot live in it. Occasionally someone works out that a container costs less than London rent and reaches the wrong conclusion. Containers have no ventilation for occupancy, no water, no facilities, no fire escape route designed for people, and the insurance and the terms both prohibit it.
What you are actually agreeing to
A storage agreement is a bailment. You retain ownership of your belongings, and the operator takes responsibility for looking after them. That relationship comes with obligations on both sides, and they are set out in the terms rather than assumed.
Worth reading before you sign:
- The notice period for ending the agreement, and for accessing or retrieving your belongings
- The insurance limit per container, and what is excluded
- What happens if payment stops, which is the section nobody reads
- How the operator contacts you, and your obligation to keep those details current
Our guide to how container storage works covers sizes, access and cost in more detail.
If you stop paying
This is the part the old version of this article gestured at, and it is worth setting out properly, because the outcome is not that your belongings sit there indefinitely.
In practice the sequence runs like this. Payment is missed and the operator contacts you. Arrears build, and access to the container is usually suspended while the account is in arrears. The operator writes to the address it holds for you, which is why keeping contact details current matters so much.
If contact fails, English law provides a route. Under section 12 of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977, a bailee holding uncollected goods may become entitled to sell them, having either given the owner notice of the intention to sell, or taken reasonable steps to trace and communicate with the owner without success.
Two points in your favour, both in the same section. The operator must adopt the best method of sale reasonably available in the circumstances. And it must account to you for the proceeds, less the costs of sale and any sums you owed before notice was given. In other words, if your possessions are sold, the balance after arrears and costs belongs to you.
That is the statutory backdrop. The specifics of notice periods and process live in the agreement you signed, so read that as well.
How to avoid ever being in that position
None of it happens suddenly, and all of it is avoidable.
- Keep your contact details current. Change of address, phone or email, tell the operator. This is the single commonest reason people lose belongings, and it is the easiest to prevent.
- Talk to them early if money is tight. Operators would far rather agree something than go through a sale process, which is slow and generates nothing for anyone.
- Reduce rather than abandon. If three containers are unaffordable, consolidate into one and dispose of the rest deliberately, while you are still choosing.
- Diarise the review date. Storage taken for six weeks during a chain has a way of becoming three years.
- Keep an inventory, so you always know what is actually in there and whether it is worth what you are paying. Our guide to making a removal inventory covers how.
Ending it properly
When you are done, give the notice the agreement requires and book the return delivery. With container storage the contents come back to whichever address you nominate, so there is no final trip to a depot and no van hire at the end.
If some of it is not coming home, decide that before the delivery rather than after. Selling, donating or recycling from a warehouse is easier than doing it from a hallway.
Frequently asked questions
What can you not put in a storage container? Nothing perishable, flammable, hazardous, illegal or alive. That covers food, plants, paint, aerosols, gas canisters, fuel and pets. You also cannot live in one.
Can anyone else open my storage container? No. Each container is allocated to one customer and sealed, and the warehouse is monitored and access controlled.
What happens if I stop paying for storage? The operator will contact you and access is usually suspended while the account is in arrears. If contact fails, section 12 of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 can entitle the operator to sell uncollected goods after giving notice or taking reasonable steps to trace you. Proceeds, less costs and arrears, are accounted for to you.
Will my belongings be thrown away if I forget about them? Not without process. The law requires notice or reasonable attempts to trace the owner, and requires the best available method of sale. Keeping your contact details up to date is what keeps you in control.
How much notice do I need to give to end storage? It depends on the agreement. Ours runs month to month, and five working days of notice ends the billing. Allow similar notice for the return delivery.
Is there a limit on how long I can store things? No maximum, so long as the account is paid and the agreement is in force. Set yourself a review date, because short term storage has a habit of becoming long term.
Talk to us
RMV Storage & Removals has stored belongings for London households and businesses for over fifteen years, with container storage collected from your door, house and office removals, packing services and materials and man and van work, across every area we cover including Islington storage.
Tell us what you need to store and roughly how long for, and we will tell you how many containers it takes and what it costs. Get in touch.
Written by Riki Migliori, Director at RMV Storage & Removals. Originally published November 2016. Fully reviewed and updated summer 2026.